“Alright, that’s enough of that.” Tong glanced at Huo Zhan Bai, his lips curling into a cold smile. “You thought that by having an insider and attacking when the sect was in turmoil, when the Five Elders were all dead, and I was poisoned and imprisoned, you’d have it all under control?”
He spoke slowly, pausing between words to wipe his sword on Xu Zhong Hua’s corpse, until Li Xue Jian gleamed anew.
“But fate had other plans. Who could have known I’d survive the Seven-Star Begonia poison? Who could have predicted that Miao Kong would betray the Seven Swords of Ding Jian Pavilion?” Tong sneered, “This time, none of you will leave Kunlun alive.”
Huo Zhan Bai remained silent, knowing that everything Tong said was true. He simply gripped his sword tighter, mentally preparing for a bloodbath with the first killer of the sect.
“You want to save your friends?” Having wiped his sword clean, Tong pointed its tip at Zhou Xing Zhi’s throat, sneering at Huo Zhan Bai. “Agree to my terms, and I’ll let them go.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Zhou Xing Zhi, ever fiery, spat out a defiant curse. “We’re already crippled; saving us won’t—”
A heavy blow silenced him, knocking him unconscious.
“Losers have no right to choose their fate,” Tong smirked, turning his attention back to Huo Zhan Bai. “Huo Qi, let’s negotiate. I know you still have some fight left in you, and you could likely take out half of my men—but you’d die here as well.”
Huo Zhan Bai stayed silent. And silence meant agreement.
“No need to destroy ourselves. Let’s make a pact.” Tong spoke carefully, one word at a time. “It’s simple: I’ll let you take them back, but for five years, no one from Ding Jian Pavilion crosses Suoyang Pass. The martial world of Zhongyuan (Central Plains) and Xiyu (Western Regions) will remain at peace, water and fire not touching.”
Both Huo Zhan Bai and his companions were taken aback by the unexpected offer. The terms were indeed simple, but for Tong to propose peace when he held the advantage was puzzling.
“The reason? I simply don’t want to kill you,” Tong laughed, tossing Li Xue Jian aside and reclining on his couch. “Don’t ask me why—you wouldn’t understand. So, what do you say?”
After a brief exchange of glances with his fellow swordsmen, Huo Zhan Bai made his decision. In the current situation, there was no better choice.
“Agreed.” He stepped forward, extending his hand to seal the pact. “For five years, Ding Jian Pavilion’s forces will not cross Suoyang Pass.”
Tong grasped his hand but smirked, “If you mean it, you should be looking me in the eye when making a pact.”
Look into his eyes? The warning rang in the minds of Ding Jian Pavilion’s warriors—Beware of Tong’s eye techniques!
But Huo Zhan Bai fearlessly met Tong’s gaze, locking eyes with those strange, hypnotic pupils. Their blue depths sparkled eerily, deep and inscrutable, yet showing no sign of foul play.
“Very well!” Tong laughed heartily, releasing Huo Zhan Bai’s hand and retreating into the darkness. “You’re free to go.”
He clapped his hands lightly, and the snow prison trembled. The seven swords pinned to the beams sprang loose, clattering to the floor, neatly arranged in front of their respective owners.
“Farewell,” Huo Zhan Bai said, freeing his comrades from their bindings and leading them out.
Tong sank back into the shadows, becoming one with the darkness.
He did not look back—fearing that a single glance would weaken his resolve.
Letting a tiger return to the mountain… He knew full well that he had made a mistake, missing the perfect opportunity to wipe out all the vital forces of the Central Plains martial world. Yet, he truly did not want to kill him.
It wasn’t just because he despised Miao Kong, nor because using his eye techniques against six top-tier swordsmen had drained his mental strength, leaving him without a clear chance of victory. The final, and most secret reason, was because Huo Zhan Bai was "her" friend.
During that brief time in Medicine Valley, he had witnessed the deep friendship between him and "her." If he killed Huo Zhan Bai, she would surely look at him with eyes full of reproach, wouldn’t she?
And that was something he simply could not bear.
Even if it was to repay his sister’s life-saving grace, he had to let Huo Zhan Bai go this once.
Her last words still echoed in his ears, her warm breath still lingered on his eyelids. Yet, she would never return again... When the paralysis in his body wore off and his sight was restored, he had rushed out in madness, desperately searching for her. But the news that greeted him was that she had gone to the mountain’s summit yesterday to treat the sect leader, and then, no one knew what had happened, but the entire grand hall had collapsed in an instant.
He had stood in stunned silence on the broken white jade bridge, staring at the peak, knowing that the glorious golden paradise had become nothing more than a dream.
Everything had turned to dust and ashes.
After the Seven Swords of Ding Jian Pavilion departed, Tong closed his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the shadows in the darkness bowed deeply and dragged Miao Kong’s corpse away. Only Tong remained, sitting in the deepest corner, gently stroking his newly restored eyes.
The snow prison was as silent as death.
* * *
If they hadn’t lost their way, they should have already reached Uliyasutai by now.
Miao Feng, clutching the dying woman in his arms, ran madly across the snowy plains.
Northward, northward, always northward… The wild wind howled, blinding him with the endless white expanse—so desolate and empty, just like the vast emptiness of his life over the past twenty years.
He couldn’t find the way to Uliyasutai, stumbling and falling, yet always struggling back to his feet. Even so, he dared not move his hand away from her back, nor let the flow of internal energy falter for even a moment.
The fierce wind and snow numbed him to the bone.
Miao Feng staggered through the snowfields of Uliyasutai, the wind howling past his ears, feeling tears freeze at the corners of his eyes. He remembered that night more than twenty years ago—just like now, he had run with reckless abandon.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.
"Yaa—yaa—" Suddenly, a bird’s call echoed from the sky.
Instinctively, he looked up and saw a snow-white falcon circling above, drawing closer to him with mournful, urgent cries.
Strange… How could there be a snow falcon in this frozen wasteland? His mind paused for a moment before realizing: this was a trained bird. If it appeared here, its master must be nearby!
Understanding that it was leading him, Miao Feng finally stood and, staggering, began to follow the bird in a mad dash.
That stretch of the journey felt like a dream—
The endless whiteness swallowed space and time, freezing everything in place. Clutching the dying woman, he ran through the snow, the storm blurring past and future. Only the falcon’s mournful cries above guided his way forward.
If there were truly a moment when “time stood still” in this world, it was then.
On that brief, desperate stretch of road, all the emotions he could carry in one lifetime were exhausted.
In the many snow-filled nights that followed, he would often dream of this exact scene, the searing despair waking him from sleep again and again. Each time, he would sit up in the dark, wrap himself in his cloak, and stay awake long into the night.
Outside, the snow fell in silence.
Uliyasutai.
As night fell, the station clerk was arranging meals for travelers when he heard a commotion outside. A white bird fluttered through the window, shaking off snowflakes. Startled, he almost dropped what he was holding. The bird circled the room before landing on the shoulder of one of the guests, shaking its feathers and letting out uneven, sorrowful cries.
"Xue’er, what’s wrong?" The traveler asked softly, surprise in her voice. “Where did you fly off to?”
The voice was soft and elegant—belonging to a woman, which made the clerk blink in surprise.
But before he could get a better look at whether the traveler was male or female, the thick door curtain was suddenly flung open, letting in a gust of freezing wind as a figure stumbled into the station.
It was a young man, covered in dust from long travel, his body wrapped in snow. In his arms, barely visible beneath the thick fur coat, was a figure with a deathly pale hand dangling limply from the sleeve.
“Is there a doctor here?” The young man stopped, panting, his expression wild and terrifying. “Is there a doctor here?!”
At the sight of his blue hair, the entire room froze in shock.
Blue… blue hair?! The station clerk suddenly realized that he recognized this man—hadn’t he passed through Uliyasutai just two weeks ago, heading west?
“Sir, are you…” the clerk hesitated, stepping forward to greet him.
“Doctor!” But before he could finish his sentence, the young man grabbed his collar with a fierce grip, lifting him off the ground. “Tell me, where is the doctor?!”
With just one hand, the man easily hoisted the clerk into the air, demanding an answer. The poor clerk flailed helplessly, unable to speak.
The other guests, seeing the fury in the young man’s eyes, were too terrified to move.
“Let him go,” a calm voice spoke quietly.
The snow falcon let out a cry, taking flight. A traveler rose from the crowd and walked forward.
She was a woman in her thirties, dressed in simple clothes, her hair styled in a flowing southern cloud bun, secured by a purple jade hairpin. Her beauty was understated but elegant, and she carried herself with grace. Two maids stood at her side, all showing signs of a long journey. Though women rarely made public appearances in such places, this one didn’t seem to be a martial artist, despite the unusual setting.
She gently parted the crowd and signaled for the young man to release the poor clerk. "Let me take a look."
"You?" He turned to look at her, hesitating. "Are you a doctor?"
"Of course," the woman replied with a tone of pride. She opened her hand to reveal a jade pendant, speaking in an unquestionable manner. "I am the best doctor—do you have a patient in need of care?"
Miao Feng was momentarily stunned. The orchid and cloud patterns on the jade pendant seemed familiar.
The best doctor? A wave of wild hope surged within him. Could she be saved after all?
"Then, quickly, check on her!" He wasted no time, urgently turning around. "Please, examine her!"
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